This invention relates to apparatus for preparing individual servings of food for human consumption and more particularly to apparatus for preparing individual servings of food for a banquet type meal.
A banquet type meal entails the preparation and serving of a large number of substantially identical individual servings of hot food usually including meat or fish and two vegetables. The food is cooked in bulk and subsequently dished out onto a plurality of plates to provide the individual servings which are then distributed among the persons attending the banquet.
Assuming that the food is of high quality and properly cooked, there remain two basic elements of the process which are critical to the quality of the individual meals as served. The first of these is the cleanliness of the plates onto which the bulk food is served. At the present time, the plates and plate covers, if used, are washed at a dishwashing location and stacked for transport to the banquet kitchen. In the banquet kitchen they are restacked for storage prior to use. Several hours before the banquet takes place they may be placed in appropriate warming apparatus usually in stacks. In any event, prior to the banquet, they must be individually positioned and the bulk food dished out thereon. They must then await delivery to the individual persons at the banquet.
From the above it will be seen that in the prior art the plates are repeatedly handled after washing and before actual serving. Such handling not only requires many man-hours of labor but also causes a health hazard and tends to decrease the quality of the service.
It is an object of this invention to provide banquet food serving apparatus which reduces the required handling of empty plates after washing and prior to serving toward minimum.
The second element in the serving of a banquet type meal which is critical to the quality of the individual meals as served is the length of time between the preparation of the individual serving and the actual delivery thereof for consumption. Food may be kept warm in bulk for extended periods of time without excessive deterioration in quality. However, individual servings of food on plates tend to deteriorate rapidly in quality. Individual servings on plates tend to cool rapidly and if the plates are heated, the individual servings will tend to be rapidly overcooked. The division of a quantity of food into smaller quantities exposes more of the food to air increasing the danger of contamination, oxidization and excessive moisture loss.
However, at a banquet, a large number of individual servings must be delivered for consumption substantially simultaneously. Thus, in the prior art, it was necessary to prepare the individual servings well in advance of actual delivery thereof.
It is another object of this invention to provide banquet food serving apparatus which reduces the time required between the dishing out of the bulk food into individual servings and actual delivery of such servings for consumption toward minimum.